Category: Life’s Challenges
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I Remember Cheating God
I’m still thinking about an old memory that came to mind a couple weeks ago during the women’s worship service at the county jail. I was there as a volunteer to play the piano, as usual, and participated in the whole worship experience with the inmates. One of the scriptures that we read was Acts…
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Garden Guilt
Friday I worked hard. I was inspired by all the yard work some special guests did for us a week ago. Thanks, Mike and Sherrie! They spent a long weekend tackling the outside jobs I never seem to get done. Keeping up a three-acre yard takes more than three hours of lawn mowing every week…
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How do you talk with God?
That’s something I’ve been trying to learn ever since I was a little kid. I remember the first prayer I ever learned: “God bless our food. Amen.” I said that prayer and then my brother and sister said the Norwegian table prayer, and then we could eat. My mother never had the patience to teach…
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Remembering My Mom – and Yesterday’s Sermon – on Memorial Day
My earliest memory of Memorial Day is going to the cemetery with my mom to put flowers on the graves of my grandparents. I remember asking her, “Why are we putting flowers on their graves? They weren’t soldiers.” And she responded, “Memorial Day is for remembering everyone we love who has died.” With that conversation…
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Being Thankful Today – not just on Thanksgiving
Today’s about as far from Thanksgiving as you can be in a year, but I want to talk about being thankful anyway. Being thankful was on my mind a lot last week. On Thursday, I went to the county jail again to play the piano for the women inmate’s worship service. During the testimony time,…
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Upcoming Retreat at Whispering Winds: “Wrinkles Don’t Hurt”
Guest blog post by Pastor and Spiritual Director Joan Gunderman It is not difficult to talk and joke with friends about growing old, but how often do we have conversations with others about meaning, where we can honestly share our wisdom and peace, our fears and doubts, our faith, and the unique humor that comes…
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Am I really defined by my possessions?
Several days ago Mim learned about the need for a $2,300 repair on her 2003 Toyota Matrix. We briefly considered whether or not it was getting to be time to replace the car, and quickly concluded that now is not the time for us to pay for a new car. Today I hope to clean…
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Forgiveness – Challenge & Gift
I asked Pastor Joan Gunderman to write today’s blog post. Joan and I have been friends for 13 years, ever since she started coming to our first bed & breakfast, Country Comforts, in the late 1990’s. Joan is a Lutheran pastor, retreat leader, and spiritual director. Joan will be leading three retreats this summer at…
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